Computer Aided Design (“CAD”) software has been widely used to create virtual models of buildings and products for decades. In addition, Computer Generated Images (CGI) have been used to create virtual images from video games to movies and virtual worlds. The existing processes are cumbersome, creating large files which are problematic to share and move from user to user and require a tremendous amount of storage and computer power to process into photo realistic renderings. In addition, the CAD files and CGI files have competing needs, which makes it difficult for users to efficiently create photo realistic images without tremendous computing power. The CAD files, ideally, need to be small to be efficient for users to save and share; while the CGI files need rich data to be able to create photo realistic images. Attempts have been made to address the file size issue by introducing Proxy Objects into the CAD model. Proxy Objects are light weight objects with limited detail and smaller file size as compared to large weight HD Objects with maximum detail and larger file size.
Current solutions link a single Proxy Object to a single HD Object which are memory intensive as they have all the details required to create a photo realistic image once rendered. Advancements in computer hardware are decreasing the time to produce photo realistic images. While the current solutions help address the file size issue, they require individual users to manually create a Proxy Object for each HD Object. If a user wants to change the HD Object, the user is required to change the Proxy Object manually within the CAD model and then re-render the scene which requires the user to have specific software, hardware and specific technical skills.
Many manufacturers have made their HD CAD Objects available publicly to help CAD users include their products in CAD Models. However, once a user has the manufacturer's HD Object, they have all the details of how the product is designed. However, in doing so, the manufacturers are giving their intellectual property to users without regard to how the public may use their information. This is very similar to the early days of music being made available online where users were able to copy and share music with little or no control by the music's owner. Users copied and shared music freely, creating a major problem for music owners.
The current solutions are not practical for many applications. For example, a user who wants to create a CAD model of a single-family home and show alternative appliances, cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, light fixtures, flooring and paint colors could easily have more than 400 million combinations. This is not practical and is the main reason that home builders have not been able to virtually model alternative selections for consumers with photo quality rendering. Similar scalability issues exist for commercial designers and architects who need to model multiple combinations of selections and retailers who must rely on actual photography to represent their products on line.
While Proxy Objects have existed for years and make the CAD models more efficient, all Proxy Objects have been associated only with a single HD Object in a one-to-one relationship. This limits the ability to scale and requires a CAD user to modify the CAD model each time they want to modify the output of the CAD file. What is lacking in the industry is a method of managing light weight Proxy Objects and connecting a generic proxy object to one or more HD Objects using Meta Data.
Currently the 3D objects in CAD Models are disconnected from the product information. Users construct buildings using 2D paper plans with 2D specifications. Matching the details on the plans with the specifications details is cumbersome and time consuming. BIM models offered the promise of solving much of these issues by creating 3D Models of buildings with content information. However, this shifted the burden from the contractors matching manual information to the architects building this information within BIM models and most architects don't take the time to add the product information within a BIM. In addition, a BIM requires specialized software, hardware and training to use.
The Product Data is not connected digitally with the 3D objects and there is no system in place to manage the Product Lifecycle—meaning that end users don't have any way to know if a product is still available or if it will be discontinued at some future date. Additionally, once a manufacturer discontinues a product, they typically delete all references to that product on their website. This makes it very difficult for end users to research product information on products that have been installed.
Current solutions do not provide any way for a Non-CAD user to comment or add data to a 3D Model from outside of CAD Software. This requires a CAD User to navigate with a Non-CAD user through the CAD Software to make changes to a CAD Model or, more frequently, the CAD User prints a 2D set of plans for the Non-CAD User to add comments and additional information on paper. The CAD User then takes the information communicated via paper and updates the CAD Model. This is a very manual process that is time consuming and creates many opportunities for errors.